The present invention relates generally to game apparatus, and more particularly to a novel game apparatus for use with a hand-holdable video game device or the like having depressible controls for varying operating functions of the video game, the game apparatus having a joystick and depressible control knobs operative to control the video game device when supported within a recess in the game apparatus.
The popularity of video games, and particularly compact models having housings adapted to be held in one hand of the user during operation, has reached major proportions. The housings of such video games generally support a video display screen exposed through an upper surface of the housing. Control levers, buttons and/or knobs are generally supported at convenient locations to enable an operator to readily manipulate the various controls with one hand while holding the video game in the other hand. A drawback of many hand-held video games of known design is that the video display, which may comprise an LCD screen, presents the display characters or scenes in relatively small scale so as to make it difficult for some persons to readily discern the displayed characters or images. Further, while the hand-holdable video games are convenient to operate on a personalized basis because of their relatively small size, larger size video games, such as found in commercial game arcades and the like, frequently employ a joystick control in addition to depressible control buttons or knobs. The joystick is movable in fore-and-aft and side-to-side motions and has been found to give the operator a greater sense of agility and control over various related functions of the video game as displayed on a relatively large display screen. Accordingly, a game apparatus adapted for cooperation with hand-held type video games and which enhances viewing of the video display by magnification and employs a joystick and depressible controls operable by both hands of the user to control various functions of the video game would greatly simulate many desired features of popular larger-scale commercial video games.